Downjungledubtempo MP3

Cambridge, Mass.-based musician Keith Fullerton Whitman, aka Hrvatski, occasionally posts MP3 files of outakes and works-in-progress on his reckankomplex.com website. The current item is what he calls “a completely alternate demo version” of “You Didn’t Look High Enough,” the original of which appeared on his 1999 collection, Oiseaux 96-98, due for re-release in an expanded edition on February 3, 2004 (he promises to pack it with extra material in MP3 format). Whitman describes this archival find as “replete with a zany dub breakdown & some dope ‘sound of ’96’ minimal amen-grunkerie, albeit scarred from nasty digital distortions (which we feel add to the experience). in one word: dope,” all packed into little more than four minutes. In other words, it’s a heavily constructed track, with familiar elements — the dub and the mid-’90s jungle percussion, for example — that are spliced together in a manner that draws attention to how distinct they are from one another. The dub is deep and earthy, the percussion erratic and mechanistic, and while either sound might be a tad dated, Whitman’s ear for keen edits, tribal momentum and spacious pauses is completely fresh. In the best meaning of the phrase, it’s a true kitchen-sink marvel, with what sounds like typewriter percussion preceding the more common, but still inventively cadenced, drum machine. Check out his home page, or access the file directly. (And read a past Disquiet.com interview with him here: “Army of One.”)